Note: A restricted free agent may sign an “offer sheet” with another team, but his original team has seven days to match the offer (if it sent the player a qualifying offer by yesterday). If the original team decides not to match the offer, it can be compensated with draft picks from the other team. The new club has until April 15 to sign a RFA to an offer sheet.

Unrestricted Free Agents

DE Alfonso Boone

TE Brandon Manumaleuna

C-G Dennis Norman*

WR Kassim Osgood*

T Jon Runyan*

DT Ian Scott

TE Kris Wilson

*-Definitely won’t return

Darren Sproles is staying, for now. Jamal Williams is gone, for now.

It was an eventful Thursday at Chargers Park, where decisions were made and announced regarding those two stars (and others) in the final hours before the start of the NFL’s 2010 league year.

After previously informing Sproles’ agent that they were not going to tender the running back, and with Sproles prepared to begin the odyssey of finding a new team, the Chargers yesterday placed the highest possible tender on their kick returner and situational running back.

“I’m happy I’m still going to be here,” Sproles said yesterday. “But you know what I want — a long-term deal. That’s what we’re working on right now.”

The Chargers released Williams, their venerable nose tackle who h

as been hampered the past three seasons by various injuries. Williams, who will be 34 in April and missed the final 15 games of the 2009 season with a triceps injury, was due a $1 million roster bonus and was scheduled to make $5 million in ’10. The Chargers will continue to talk to Williams regarding a reworked deal, though people close to Williams said he is prepared to move on.

The Chargers and Sproles have been working, to some extent, on a multiyear contract for more than a year and will continue to do so.

But the Chargers’ economics have not changed in a week, and it remains highly unlikely the Chargers have actually budgeted to pay Sproles the $7.28 million he is now due in 2010.

Even though General Manager A.J. Smith said the Chargers hope to keep all their tendered players, there remains the possibility that Sproles will be allowed to leave.

The money the Chargers would owe Sproles in ’10 (as high as it is because he would be entitled to a 10 percent raise over his 2009 salary) remains a steep price and would bring to just less than $14 million the amount they would have paid him over two seasons.

As a restricted free agent, he is free to talk with other teams. If another team signed him, however, they would owe the Chargers draft picks — ostensibly a first-round pick and a third-round pick, though a lower pick or picks could be negotiated.

Sproles was set to visit Kansas City, Philadelphia, St. Louis and Washington when it was thought he would be unrestricted. And there figures to still be interest in a player considered among the league’s most dynamic runners.

Earlier yesterday, while still thinking he’d be unrestricted, Sproles reiterated the Chargers were his “first choice” but said he was excited to see what was out there for him.

“It’s always been on my mind — how do other teams want to use me?” he said. “Is it just on third down and returning? Or do some people want to use me more? That’s what I’ve always wondered?”

Even if Sproles stays, the Chargers remain in the market for running backs — a starter and a third option. LaDainian Tomlinson was released last month, and third-team back Michael Bennett was let go yesterday.

No other veterans were released, but the Chargers notified the agent for Pro Bowl special teamer Kassim Osgood that they would not be bidding for his services. That is not a surprise, but it officially brings to an end the time in San Diego of one of the league’s best special teamers. The popular Osgood was voted one of the team’s all-time greatest 50 players. Osgood has repeatedly stated his desire to have a larger role (any role) in the offense. That desire and his 2008 criticism of head coach Norv Turner had guaranteed his departure for some time.

The team announced agreement on a two-year contract with defensive tackle Antonio Garay, who joined them midseason last year. The Chargers will continue to negotiate with unrestricted free agent defensive linemen Alfonso Boone and Ian Scott in hopes they can keep their line rotation largely together.

They will also try to re-sign at least one of their free-agent tight ends, Brandon Manumaleuna or Kris Wilson. The latter is more likely, in that Manumaleuna is receiving strong interest from Baltimore, Chicago and Houston.

The Chargers confirmed yesterday the previously reported tendering of restricted free agents Malcom Floyd, Vincent Jackson, Marcus McNeill and Shawne Merriman at the first-and-third level. All of them are expected back in 2010, due to the steep price of a first-and-third and the fact the Chargers likely wouldn’t budge much on that asking price for any of them.

The team also announced that 10 players have undergone or will have surgery soon.

The most serious procedure was performed on inside linebacker Kevin Burnett, whose neck surgery will keep him out of spring drills but shouldn’t limit him in training camp. All the other surgeries, including punter Mike Scifres’ hernia operation, could even allow the players to participate in minicamp.

That is even more likely since minicamp is later this season. The team will hold the three-day camp during the middle of the week for the first time, May 26-28. There will be a rookie minicamp earlier in the month, on May 8-9.